Vehicular safety harness apparatus



March 5, 1968 L.. FfBAYER TAL VEHICULAR SAFETY HARNESS APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 18. 1966 MLwLw/L TTQRNE'X March 5, 1968 FiledApril 18. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTJP/VEX March 5, 1968 L F. BAYER ETALVEHICULAR SAFETY HARNESS APPARATUS Filed April 18., 1966 5 Sheets-Shee 5March 5, 1968 F. BAYER ETAL 3,371,960

VEHICULAR SAFETY HARNESS APPARATUS Filed April 18. 196e 5 sheets-sheet 4Arranz/wr 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 5, 1968 l., F. BAYER ETAL VEHICULARSAFETY .HARNESS APPARATUS Filed April 18.` 1966 wwwww|w www www UnitedStates Patent Oii ice 3,371,960 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 3,371,960VEHICULAR SAFETY HARNESS APPARATU Leon F. Bayer, 1640 E. Bethany HomeRoad, Phoenix, Ariz. 85016, and .lack L. Bayer, 9021 N. 18 Drive,Phoenix, Ariz. 85020 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No.343,391, Feb. 7, 1964. This application Apr. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 552,661

10 Claims. (Cl. 297-386) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE This invention isconcerned with safety harness apparatus for use in vehicles, such asmotor cars or aircraft. The safety apparatus is of the hydraulic type,and is constructed to permit free normal movements of the operator.However, any sudden forward movement of the operator causes theapparatus to lock and to hold him rrn. Added features of the inventioninclude a means for reducing excessive stress on the operator in theevent he is thrown forward with a high rate of speed, such as uponimpact with another vehi-cle. Also, an added feature is the provision ofmeans for adapting the apparatus to be used in conjunction with seatejection mechanisms in aircraft, and to provide means for drawing thepilot rmly back against the seat, when such ejection is eifectuated.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser.No. 343,391, which was tiled Feb. 7, 1964, in the names of the presentinventors.

The present invention relates to vehicular safety harness apparatus, andparticularly to an hydraulic mechanism for controlling a chest andshoulder safety harness for use in any fast moving vehicle.

The apparatus of the invention serves to absorb the kinetic energyexpended by the upper body or torso of the pilot, driver, or passengerof the vehicle, in direct proportion to the energy created by a crash orsudden deceleration of the vehicle.

The safety harness apparatus of the invention also serves, in one of itsembodiments, firmly to support the pilot on the seat of the vehicle,during an emergency ejection operation. 1

The safety harness apparatus of the present invention may be used inconjunction with a conventional lap type safety seat belt, for example,the purpose, function, advantages and disadvantages of which belts arewell known; especially the particular disadvantage in that the energyabsorption function is limited to the lower portion of the vehicleoccupants body, thus allowing the upper part of the body and head tosnap forward in the event of a crash or sudden deceleration of thevehicle, with the possibility of the occupant incurring severe injury tothe upper body.

An object of the present invention is to provide a chest and shouldersafety harness apparatus for installation in vehicles, which harnessapparatus is adapted to be used alone, or associated with, andsupplemental to, a conventional lap type seat belt, for the purpose ofrestraining and limiting movement of the upper body portion of a vehicleoccupant in direct proportion to the conditioning requirementsnecessary.

lll

protect a pilot in an aircraft; and which has further ca-` pability ofdrawing the pilot firmly back against the seat and locking him in thatposition in the seat, in the case pf an emergency seat ejection by thepilot from the aircraft.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irnproved chest andshoulder harnesssafety apparatus which is adapted to be secured to theroof structure of a vehicle, for example, above and to the rear of thewearer occupant; and which has a retractable harness strap element,which extends downwardly and forwardly over the shoulder and diagonallyover the chest of the wearer, to a point of attachment to a conventionalseatbelt, or other fixed point, in such a manner and relation that itremains reasonably taut over the upper torso of the wearer at all times,thereby eliminating the possibility of excessive, injurious pressurebeing applied to the upper body by the harness itself, in the event of asevere crash.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such improvedsafety harness apparatus which can conveniently be mounted on the rearof the chair supporting the oc' Yet a further object of the invention isto provide suchV improved safety harness apparatus which is completelyautomatic in its function, which requires no adjust-ments or otherconscious act on the part of the wearer to make it fully effective uponsudden deceleration of the vehicle, and which can be worn continuouslyduring operation of the vehicle with a minimum of discomfort to thewearer.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearlyunderstood by reference to the following specification, together withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a left side elevational view of a motor vehicle with partsin section and broken away to illustrate the safety harness apparatus ofone embodiment of the present invention, as worn by the operator of thevehicle;

FIGURE 2 is a front fragmentary elevational view of the safety harnessapparatus of FIGURE 1, as worn by the operator;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a control unit ofthe safety harness apparatus of FIG- URES l and 2; illustrating certainof the internal operating components of the control unit, and the mannerin which it may be secured to the roof structure of the motor vehicle;

FIGURE 3A is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section of the controlunit, taken substantially along the line 3A--3A of FIGURE 1, and showingthe configuration of the forward end of the control unit;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged plan view of the control unit;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the kcontrol unit,with its various parts in an. at rest position, taken substantiallyalong the line 5 5 of FIGURE 4; and also showing the vehicle roof,head-lining, and attaching means in phantom line;

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional View of the control unit takensubstantially along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional view of the control unit takensubstantially along the line 7-7 of FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a transverse sectional view of the control unit takensubstantially along the line 8 3 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the forward end of thecontrol unit, similar to the view of FIG- URE 5, but showing the variousparts moved rearwardly or in active relation;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the control unittaken substantially along the line 1il- 10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of theinvention, illustrated as mounted on the seat of a vehicle, such as anaircraft;

FIGURE 12 is a side sectional view of the control unit of the secondembodiment, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a sectional View of the control unit of the secondembodiment, taken substantially along the line 13-13 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a transverse sectional view of the control unit of thesecond embodiment taken along the line 14--14 of FIGURE 13; and

FIGURE 15 is a cross-sectional view of the forward end of the controlunit of FIGURE 13, taken essentially along the line 1515 of FIGURE 13.

Referring to the drawings for more specific details of the invention andespecially to FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 3a which illustrate the installationand location of the first embodiment of the harness safety apparatus ofthe invention with respect to the occupant wearer seated in a motorvehicle; 10 represents generally the body of a motor vehicle Whichcomprises a hood 11, a roof 12, a oor 13 and a dashboard 14 whichencloses the interior passenger compartment 15 which contains theconventional seats 16, instrument panel 17, steering wheel 18, controls19, and is provided with the usual windshield and windows 21.

It will be understood, of course, that although the safety harnessapparatus of the rst embodiment of the invention is illustrated inFIGURES 1 and 2 as installed in a passenger motor vehicle, the safetyharness apparatus may also be used in other vehicles, such as aircraft.In fact, the second embodiment of the invention, to be described,although it too may be used in passenger motor vehicles, has specialapplications to aircraft, and especially to the type in which seatejection is used in emergencies.

The safety harness apparatus of the first embodiment comprises anautomatic control unit 22 and a harness or strap 23 which are associatedin a specic manner to perform the functions of the invention withrespect to the occupant wearer 24 of the harness 23 as will be laterdescribed.

The control unit 22 in the embodiment of FIGURES 1- 10 is preferablyattached to the vehicle roof above the harness wearers head and slightlyto the right of the wearers body Center line when the wearer of theharness is seated on the left side of the vehicle as the driver of thevehicle normally would be, and slightly to the left of the body centerline when the wearer of the harness is seated on the right side of thevehicle as a passenger normally would be.

The control unit 22 is located to project rearwardly from a point abovethe wearers head a sufficient distance to allow the harness 23, whichincludes a strong flat nylon webbing or strap 25, to depend downwardly,forwardly and inwardly at a comfortable angle over the wearers Shoulder,and diagonally over the wearers chest to a point of attached 26 on aconventional lap type seat belt 27, at the wearers side.

Although the harness of the first embodiment is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2as having the strap 25 attached to a seat belt, it is to be understoodthat under certain conditions, the strap may be secured directly to arigid part of the seat.

The control unit 22 includes a narrow elongated channel or supportmember 28 (FIGURES 3 and 3A) having an angle piece 29 fitted at thefront end and secured to the base of the channel by bolts 30. A mountingrib 31 which may be suitably secured, as by welding, to the sides andbase of the channel, is located approximately midway in the channel, anda mounting lug 32 which may be welded or otherwise secured to thechannel is located at the extreme end thereof. The side Walls, or whatmay be termed legs 33, of the channel 28 are of equal length andtogether with the top surface of the angle 29, the top surface of therib 31 and lug 32, provide a at horizontal mounting surface 34 which isadapted to fit tightly and flush up against the bottom inside surface ofthe conventional ceiling or head-lining material 35 (see (FIGURES 3 and4).

Between the ceiling 35 and the roof 12 are the conventional ceiling orheadlining material 35 (see FIGURES 38, which members have countersunkholes 39 which align Y with threaded bores 40 in the rib 31 and the lug32 to receive suitable screws 41 which project through the holes 39 inthe center of countersunk or dimpled indentations 42 of the roof 12, tosecurely support the control unit 22 tightly in contact with the roofbow members 36 and the spacer members 37 and 38 in proper relation tothe vehicle occupant 24. The heads of the screws 41 are adapted to tflush or slightly below the top surface of the roof 12, and theresultant countersunk cavity 42 is preferably filled with a suitablematerial such as lead which may be finished flush with the roof top.

The above described means of attaching the control unit 22 to thevehicle roof structure 12 is a preferred arrangement, but other suitablemeans may be utilized.

Referring now to FIGURES 4-10 of the drawings, which illustrate indetail the mechanical and hydraulically operating parts which comprisethe control unit 22, and the relationship of these parts with theharness 23. The control unit 22, and the relationship of these partswith the harness 23. The control unit 22 includes what may be termed anhydraulic cylinder 44, having a front closure head 45 and a rear closurehead 46. These heads are mounted on the respective front and rear endsof the cylinder 44, and they are suitably sealed so as to retain afluid, such as oil, within the cylinder.

The front closure head 45 is provided with a forwardly projecting pin 47which extends through a suitable clearance hole 48 in the angle piece29, allowing the front face of the head 4S to abut against the rearsurface 49 of the angle piece 29 and to axially align the cylinder 44 inthe channel member 28. The rear closure head 46 is provided with arearwardly extending cylindrical boss 50 which fits with suitableclearance into a counter bore 51, centrally located in the stationarymounting rib 31, and in alignment with the clearance hole 48 in theangle piece 29. The boss 50 has a at abutment surface 52 which isadapted to contact the bottom of the counter bore 51 thereby maintainingparallel longitudinal alignment of the cylinder 44 with the side wallsor legs 33 and and the base of the channel member 28, thus preventingrelative movement of the cylinder 44 between the angle piece 29 and thestationary mounting rib 31.

The hydraulic cylinder 44 has the usual axial bore 53 (FIGURE 5) whichtogether with the inner ends of the front and rear closure heads 45 and46, form a sealed cylindrical fluid chamber 54 in which a piston 55, acontrol plug or valve member 56, and a tilt ring 57, which are suitablymounted on a piston rod 58, are adapted to move axially in the chamber54, as may be caused by a rearward force being exerted on the piston rod58 by the harness element 23, Or a forward force imposed on the pistonrod by contraction of a tension spring 59 (see FIGURES 4 and 6) as therelative position of the har* ness wearer may require.

The tension spring 59 is suitably secured to the forward end of thechannel member 28 to the upstanding leg of the angle piece 29, as at thepoint 60 and extends rearwardly parallel to the cylinder 44, as bestshown in FIGURE 4, through a bore 61 in the stationary rib 31, where itis secured to a U-shaped fork member 62 as at the connection point 63.The piston rod 58 is connected by means of its threaded forward end 64to the piston 55 and projects rearwardly through clearance bores 65 inthe control plug 56 and in the tilt ring 57, a sealed clearance bore 66in the rear cylinder head 46, a central bore 67 in the rib 31, and isthreaded into the cross bar of the fork member 62 as at 68.

The fork member 62 is provided with rearwardly extending arms 69 whichsupport a bearing shaft 74B and a rotatable spool or roller member 71therebetween. Another bearing shaft 72 is suitably secured transverselyof the channel member 28 of unit 22 at its extreme rear end thereof andis adapted to support a rotatable spool or roller member 73 as shown inFIGURE 5.

The harness element strap 2S extends upwardly and rearwardly over thewearers shoulder (FIGURES 1 and 2), as previously described, and througha slot 74 in the base of the channel 2S, around and over the rear roller73, forwardly over and under the front spool 71 and rearwardly along theinner surface of the channel base, where it is threaded over and undersuitable stationary clamping pins 75 and 76 which are riveted orotherwise secured between the channel legs 33, and again forwardly wherethe end of the strap 25 is suitably secured by rivets or other suitablemeans to its under portion as at 77.

The piston 55 is provided with a suitable rubber or neoprene or Teonsealing ring 78 which contacts the bore 53 of the hydraulic cylinder 44in sliding relation to prevent passage of fluid from one side of thepiston to the other side in the usual manner. A pair of ports 79 (FIGURE10) extend from the frontface of the piston through the piston to therear face thereof to provide for the passage of uid from the rearportion of the chamber 54 to the front portion of the chamber, asrequired when the piston moves to displace fluid on either side thereof.

Control plug 56 is adapted to slide easily on the piston rod 58 and isprovided with a rear circular flange 80 against which a compressionspring 81 is adapted to seat, for the purpose of normally maintaining anarea of separation 87, between the rear face of the piston 55, uponwhich the spring 81 also bears, and the front face of control plug 56,for reasons which will be more fully explained in the function of thedevice. The control plug 56 is also provided with a thin diametricalwall 82 which is adapted to collapse radially inwardly when extremepressures are applied to its circumferential surface.

The tilt ring 57, mounted on the piston rod 58 and to the rear f thecontrol plug 56, is prevented from rearward movement by a stop washer83, which is secured to the piston rod. The stop washer 83 is preferablyarcuate in shape to allow the concave shaped depressed portion 84 of thetilt ring to bear on the convex surface thereof, providing a universaljoint to allow the tilt ring 57 to rock laterally thereby causing aforward pressure to be exerted on the rear face of the control plug 56with which it is associated, under certain conditions, as will beexplained, in the explanation of the operational and functional featuresof the safety harness apparatus, which follows:

The safety harness apparatus of the invention, like all others of asimilar nature, is intended to be worn at all times when the passengeror pilot or driver wearer is seated in a moving vehicle, therefore thefunctioning of the various related parts of the embodiment shown inFIGURES 1-10 will be described under driving conditions.

Should the occupant wearer of the harness move his upper body forwardslowly and deliberately such as when reaching to adjust an instrument,or any other normal movement, the harness strap 25 will move downwardlyin the direction of the arrow 85, freely rotating over the spools 73 and71, causing rearward movement of the forward spool 71 and the forkmember 62 in the direction of arrow 86 pulling the connected piston rod58, piston 55 and associated parts, in the same direction. This rearwardmovement is resisted only by the slight tension of the spring 59 and theslight pressure created by the free passage of hydraulic uid past thecontrol member 56, the area or space 87, and through the ports 79, tothe front of the uid chamber 54. It can be.` readily understood that therestraining force applied to the wearer 24 under these circumstanceswould be quite negligible rand present no uncomfortable conditions.

Sudden deceleration of the vehicle, such as by application of the brakesat high speeds, will impel the body of the wearer occupant forward andrequire greater restrain.- ing force to be exerted by the harnessapparatus than that required by normal wearer movements just described.This additional restraining force is obtained by utilizing the kineticenergy of the control plug 56 to cause it to move forward against thecompression of the spring 81 to the adjacent face of the piston 55 andlto move rearwardly in unison therewith, thereby partially blocking theports 79, as shown in FIGURES 9 and l0, to slow up the transfer of fluidfrom the rear of the chamber 54 to the front of the chamber and causinggreater restraining and retarding forces to be applied to the weareroccupant. This same blocking of the ports occurs when there is rapidmovement of the occupant in the seat, which causes rapid unreeling ofthe harness. The rapid ow of oil through the ports produces a pressuredrop while bringing the control plug and piston 55 together.Acceler-ation of the webbing also closes the ports because the plug S6tends to remain stationary while the piston 55 is brought towards it.

Should the deceleration of the vehicle be of great intensity, such asmight be encountered in a head-on crash at high speed, or any similarcondition which might endanger the wearer occupant by the sudden greatrestraining force applied to the wearer by the harness 23 itself,provision has been made in the present device to control this factor.This is attained by decreasing the restraining force to some degree bysuitable means inherent in the control plug 56. To this end, the exiblediametrical wall 82 of the plug 56 is adapted to collapse radiallyinwardly when severe pressures are exerted on its outer circumference,thereby increasing the size of the opening into the ports 79 in thepiston 55 and allowing faster passage of uid through the piston to thefront of the chamber 54, thereby -momentarily lessening the restrainingforce exerted on the wearer by the harness apparatus so as to preventinjury to his person.

Under extremely severe forces, it is possible that the stress excited onthe harness might be great enough to fracture the relatively slenderpiston rod 58, thus causing the harness to lose the holding backetiicacy of the piston 56. To cope with this contingency the rollershaft 70 and bight portion of the fork 62 are designatedI to bend undersuch great stress. Bending of the `shaft 70` tends to bind pulley orroller 71 thus impeding it from turning and inward bending of the bightportion of thef fork 62 tends to squeeze the ends of the pulley 71between the sidearms of the fork 69. At the other roller or pulley 73,the shaft 72 is Ialso made bendable under severe stress to produce thesame type of braking action. In addition, the material and thickness ofthe walls 33 is made such that they will give way `allowing the shaft 72to be pulled through the walls toward the shaft 70. This then -bringsthe roller 73 against the clamping pin and the webbing wrapped therearound, and produces additional braking action. In this manner, thetension on the piston rod 5S is somewhat relieved and even if the rodshould fracture, there will still Ibe a braking action on the webbing 25by virtue of the collapsing of the parts as described above.

The control unit 22 is also provided with means to protect the weareroccupant in case of a side or angular force f directed against thevehicle. Such applied force would cause the tilt ring 57 to be rocked ortilted relative to the axis of the piston rod 58 and to apply forwardpressure to the control plug 56, to hold the control plug against thepressure of the spring 81 into contact with the rear face of the piston55, partially closing the ports 79 in the piston and thereby slowing thepassage of fluid therethrough and assisting its associated elements inapplying the necessary restraining forces on the harness wearers person.

Although as shown, and described, the control unit of FIGURES 1-10 issecured to the ceiling of the vehicle, it is obvious that, if desired,the control unit may be secured to any other suitable part of thevehicle, as, for example, to the rear side of the seat, door post, orother fixed part, in which case the strap may be disposed diagonallyacross the -body of the occupant and attached to the scat belt, or Othersecuring point. For harnessing a baby in the back seat of an automobile,the unit may be mounted to the back of the rear seat.

The embodiment in FIGURES 11-15 is attached to the rear of the seat, asshown in FIGURE 11. As mentioned above, the latter embodiment of thesafety harness apparatus, although having general application, isparticularly adapted for use in aircraft, and in conjunction withejection type seat mechanisms.

The safety harness apparatus, as shown in the embodiment of FIGURES11-15 includes a control unit 100 (FIGURE 11) having a reel 102rotatably mounted at its upper end. The unit 100 is mounted on the back104 of a seat 106. The reel 102 is partially housed in a slot in theback 104 of the seat 106, and is held in place by a pair of mountingbrackets 108 (FIGURE 14) in which the reel 102 is rotatably mounted.

An elongated strap, or webbing, 112 is wound on the reel 102, and thereel serves as a take-up roller for the webbing. The free end of thewebbing 112 is fastened to the seat 106 by `an appropriate fasteningmeans 114.

The harness 116 passes diagonally across the upper torso of the wearer,as in the previous embodiment, and a roller 118 is mounted at the end ofthe harness. The webbing 112 passes around the roller so that when thewebbing is wound up on the reel, or take-up roller, 102, it draws theroller 118 backwardly against the seat back 104, and this draws theharness and the occupant back against the back of the seat.

The control unit 100 includes a tubular casing 122 which is lbolted toone of the brackets 108 at the side of the back of the seat. The shaft124, as shown, extends through the mounting brackets 108, and thetake-up roller, or rcel 102 is rotatably supported thereon. A furthertubular shaft 126 is rotatably mounted in the bracket 108, and the reel102 is keyed to the shaft 126. A sprocket 128 is also keyed to thetubular shaft 126, the sprocket being located within the casing 122.

The chain 130 extends over the sprocket 128 and down in the casing 122.The chain extends over a pair o-f bushings 132 which are rotatablymounted, for example, on needle bearings.

One end of the chain 130 is coupled by means of an appropriate coupling134 to a cable 136, as shown in FIGURE 13. The cable 136 passes around aroller 138, which is rotatably mounted in the tubular casing 122, andthe cable is secured to a movable cross arm 140. As shown in FIGURE 12,the chain 130 is actually attached to two cables 136 which extend over apair of rollers 138, and back to be secured to the cross arm 140. Apiston rod 150 extends along the `casing 122, as shown in FIG- URES 12and 13. The cross `arm 140 is secured to one end of the piston. As shownin FIGURE 13, a connector 152 couples the other end of the chain 130 t0the cross arm 140.

A spring 154 is connected to the cross arm 140 and extends to the lefthand end of the tubular housing 122 to which it is attached by means,for example, of `a bolt 156. It will be appreciated that the spring dtends to bias the cross arm 140 and piston rod 150 to the ieft in thehousing 122. When the wearer moves forward in his seat (FIGURE 11), thewebbing 112 is caused to unroll from the take-up roller 102, and thiscauses the chain to move in a direction such that the cross-arm ispulled to the right in FIGURES 12 and 13 against the tension of thespring 154. The tension of the spring 154 is such that the wearer canmove relatively freely in a forward direction, when there is only thespring tension to oppose that movement. Then, when the wearer moves backagainst the back of the seat, the spring 154 moves the cross arm 140 tothe left in FIGURES 12 and 13, causing the cables 136 to pull the chain130 so as to rotate the sprocket 128 and turn the take-up roller 102 ina direction such that the webbing 112 is reeled up on the roller.

A piston 160 is mounted on the left-hand end of the piston rod 150, asshown in FIGURE 13. The left-hand end of the tubular casing 122, inwhich the piston 160 is disposed, defines a cylinder. As in the previousembodiment, one end of the cylinder is closed by a cylinder head 162,and the other end is enclosed by an end cap assembly 164. The piston rodextends through the cylinder head 162, and is appropriately sealedthereto by means, for example, of a seal 166.

The cylinder portion of the casing 122 is filled with an appropriateHuid, such as oil, and, as in the previous embodiment, ports, orapertures 168 are provided in the piston, so as to allow the passage ofoil back and forth through the piston, as the rod 150 moves to the leftor right during normal operation of the apparatus.

As in the previous embodiment, a plug 170 is mounted on the piston rod150; and a spring 172, which is interposed between the plug 170 and thepiston 160, and which bears against peripheral anges on both elements,normally biases the plug 170 away from the rear face of the piston 160.A tilt plug 174 is also provided on the piston rod 150, as in theprevious embodiment, and separation of the tilt plug from the plug 170along the piston rod is prevented by means of a retainer 176.

Therefore, rapid movement of the piston rod 150 to the right in FIGURE13 above a predetermined minimum velocity causes the plug 170 to movetoward the adjacent face of the piston 160, against the pressure ofspring 172. This, as before, causes the ports 168 to close fully orpartially, so that lmovement of the piston is stopped or impeded. Again,as soon as the decelerating force on the harness is removed, the spring172 displaces the plug away from the ports 168, so that normal operationmay be resumed.

The pilot may remain in his locked position voluntarily or involuntarilyby leaning forward in the harness and, as long as this force remains,the plug 170 is unable to remove itself from the adjacent face of thepiston 160, so that the ports 168 remain in their closed, or partiallyclosed condition. Only when the force on the harness is relieved, canthe spring 172 displace the plug 170 away from the rear face of thepiston so that normal operation may be resumed.

In the event of side acceleration of the vehicle, the tilt plug 174 willbe tilted with respect to the retainer 176, and this tilting actioncauses the tilt plug to displace the plug against the rear face of thepiston 160, so as to bring about the same locking action, `as describedabove.

As mentioned previously, the safety harness apparatus of FIGURES 11-15may be used in conjunction with an aircraft seat assembly which isejected, together with the occupier, during an emergency. When suchejection occurs, it is important that the lapparatus function so thatthe occupier of the seat is drawn firmly back against the back of theseat. This is accomplished in the lfollowing manner:

A cartridge 200 is provided (FIGURE 12) -which is mounted on one side ofthe casing 122. This cartridge is red automatically by any appropriatemechanism (not shown) whenv the seat ejector mechanism is operated. Thefiring of the cartridge 200 causes pressurized gas to enter the cylinderportion of the casing 122 through an inlet port 202. The introduction ofsuch a gas causes a piston 204 to move along the piston rod 150 from theright to the left within the cylinder portion of the housing (FIGURE13). The piston 204 is sealed with respect to the piston rod, and withrespect to the casing 122, by appropriate seals 206, 208 and 210. Thepiston 204 is normally held in its inoperative position by means of ashear pin 212 (FIGURE 13). However, when the gas is introduced throughthe inlet port 202, the piston shears the pin 212 as it is moved to theleft in the cylinder portion of the housing.

As the piston 204 moves to the left in the casing 122, it moves the oiltrapped in the right hand portion of the cylinder against the plug 170and forces the plug firmly against the inner face of the piston 160, soas to close the ports 168. This action causes the piston to move to theleft in FIGURE 13 to its extreme left hand position, and this actionfirmly draws the pilot, or other occupier of the seat 106, back firmlyagainst the back of the seat, so that he is securely held and lockedagainst the seat during the ejection operation.

The piston 160 is so moved to the left, until a pair of stand-off pins,such as the pin 214 engage the inner face of the end cap assembly 164.This allows oil to continue to escape fromthe chamber and prevents gaspressure from becoming excessive. An escape port 216 is provided in theend cap assembly, and this port extends through the end cap assemblyinto an auxiliary cylinder 218. The auxiliary cylinder 218 is supportedalong the side of the housing 1 22, as shown, and its left hand end inFIGURE 13 is coupled to the interior of the cylinder portion of thehousing 122 through the port 216 in the end cap 164. The rate of passageof oil through the escape port 216 may be controlled, for example, by anadjustable plug 220 which forms a controllable orice for the passage ofoil into the auxiliary cylinder.

A piston 222 is mounted in the auxiliary cylinder 218. An appropriateseal such as an O-ring 223 seals the piston 222 to the wall of theauxiliary cylinder. The piston 222 is actually tubular in form, and isnormally closed by a blowout disc 224. In addition, a pug 226 is mountedat the right hand end of the piston. A spring 228 extends the length ofthe auxiliary cylinder, and this spring normally biases the piston 222towards the left hand end of the auxiliary cylinder. As the oil escapesthrough the port 216, and at a rate determined by the setting of theplug 220, it enters the auxiliary cylinder 218 and forces the piston 222to the right in FIGURE 13.

This movement of the piston 222 against the spring 228 occurs duringnormal operation of the safety harness apparatus, and permits a rapidreturn of the webbing to its reeled condition, when the wearer sits backin his seat; and it also accommodates oil volume changes for changes intemperature. This return is facilitated by the spring 154 drawing thepiston rod 150 and piston 160 to the left in FIGURE 13, the oil in thepiston in the left hand end of the cylinder passing through the ports168 in the piston, and also passing through the escape port 216 againstthe piston 223.

However, during an ejection operation, during which the piston 160 ismoved rapidly to its extreme left hand position in FIGURE 13, and duringwhich operation the oil does not pass through the aperture 168 in thepiston 160, the oil then forced through the escape port 216 and into theauxiliary cylinder 218 fractures the blow-out disc 224 and ows past theplug 226 into the space normally occupied by the spring 228. Under thelatter conditions, the oil flows rapidly from the main cylinder into theauxiliary cylinder, with the rate being controlled only by theadjustment of the plug 220. The adjustment of the plug 220, in itscontrol of the passage of oil from the main cylinder into the auxiliarycylinder, controls the rate at which the occupant is drawn back againstthe back of the seat during the ejection operation.

While the apparatus herein described and disclosed constitutes preferredforms of the invention, it is to be understood rthat modifications maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

, Having thus fully set Vforth and described this invention, that whichis claimed and desired to be obtained by United States Letters Patentis:

1. In a safety harness apparatus for an occupant seated in a vehicle,and which apparatus includes an elongated strap-like member adapted toextend around the torso of the occupant, the combination of: anelongated tubular control unit having a fluid-containing chambertherein; a piston rod slidable` in said control unit and extending intosaid chamber and movable in a first direction with respect to saidchamber for forward movements of said occupant; a piston secured to saidpiston rod to be moved thereby reciprocally in said chamber, said pistonhaving a passage therethrough for the flow of fluid through the passageupon such reciprocal movement of the piston in said chamber; a valvemember slidably mounted on said piston rod and movable towards saidpiston when said pistion is moved in said first direction so as toinhibit the flow of fluid through said passage; resilient meansinterposed between said piston and said valve member normally to biassaid valve member into a displaced relationship with respect to saidpiston; and means coupling said piston rod to said strap-like elongatedmember so that sudden move ment of said occupant relative to saidcontrol unit causes said valve member to move toward said piston againstthe bias of said resilient means due to hydraulic pressure and therebyrestrict the flow of fluid through said passage so as to inhibit suchforward movement of said occupant.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, comprising:

a first roller mounted on said piston rod,

a second roller mounted on said control unit in line with said rod,

said strap-like member having one end secured to said unit, passing oversaid first roller, thence over said second roller, and thence beingsecured to the vehicle adjacent to the occupant.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 and which includes resilient meansengaging said piston rod for biasing said piston and piston rod towardsone end of said chamber.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 and which includes a tilt membermounted on said piston rod adjacent said valve member, said tilt memberbeing movable angularly with respect to said piston rod to drive saidvalve member against said piston so as to decrease the fiow of uidthrough said passage in the presence of side or angular forces directedagainst the vehicle.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said valve member has acollapsible wall effective to increase the flow of fluid through saidpassage in the presence of severe decelerations of said vehicle tolessen momentarily the restraining force exerted by the apparatus on theoccupant so as to prevent injury to the occupant by the apparatus.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 and which includes a furtherpiston in said chamber slidably mounted on said piston rod, and meansfor introducing a further fluid into said chamber on the side of saidfurther piston remote from said first mentioned piston, so as to drivesaid first mentioned piston fand piston rod to their extreme positionsin said chamber.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 and which includes an auxiliarycylinder, and means defining a passage from said chamber into one end ofsaid auxiliary cylinder to permit fluid from said chamber to flow intosaid auxiliary cylinder upon the aforesaid drive of said first mentionedpiston to its extreme position in said chamber.

8. The combination defined in claim 7 and which includea a third pistonslidable in said auxiliary cylinder, and resilient means biasing saidthird piston towards said one end of said auxiliary cylinder.

9. The combination defined in claim '7 and which includes an adjustableplug disposed in said last named passage to control the rate of flow ofuid through said passage.

10. The combination dened in claim 8 in which said third piston has apassage extending therethrough and a blow-out disc normally closing saidlast named passage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hem 188-96 Walden 18S-96 Satell244-122 X Doolittle 280-150 Winberg 297-385 MILTON BUCHLERa PrimaryExaminer.

B. BELKIN, Examiner.

